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Day one at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium marked the first time Bell had returned to Antigua since 2009, having been axed by England there, following the team's 51-run capitulation in Jamaica six years ago.

"For me, it was nice - coming here in 2009, this was where I got dropped after our shemozzle in Jamaica, so I was determined to come out and play as well as I could," the 33-year-old told Sky Sports.

"It was nice to come back and put things right."

Bell was forced to dig deep after a three-ball duck from Jonathan Trott on his England return, and the wickets of captain Alastair Cook (11) and Gary Ballance (10), left the visitors in all sorts of trouble in their first competitive outing since the group-stage exit at the Cricket World Cup.

Veteran batsman Bell teamed up with Joe Root (83) to post a 177-run partnership, while Ben Stokes added 71 not out from 80 deliveries.

"It was a tricky first morning," Bell said.

"Then the wicket dried out and it was nice to cash in during the afternoon. I thought they bowled well for two hours, they really did.

"Joe's good to bat with in that situation, He's quite relaxed, and energetic so it was a matter of trying to put some pressure back on the bowlers.